The Pythagorean theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of squares of the other two sides. We can visualize this by drawing squares on each side of the triangle.
The formula a squared plus b squared equals c squared represents this relationship. Let's verify this with our triangle where a equals 3 and b equals 4. Three squared is 9, four squared is 16, and 9 plus 16 equals 25, which is 5 squared. So c equals 5.